Although the rise in the apartment vacancy rate is small (in the red circle), it may be a turning point if it repeats for several months. Notice that homeownership rate continues to fall as real median household income is making feeble increases.

Then again, mortgage purchase applications remain in “Death Valley”, incomes are stagnant or rising slowly, but home prices and effective apartment rates are rising.

Is The Federal Reserve contributing to the this neo-affordability crisis with its flooding of capital markets with liquidity? It appears that the third round of quantitative easing (and The Fed;s zero interest rate policies) are associated with rapidly rising house prices and apartment rents, but NOT real median household income and mortgage purchase applications.

The is the NEW affordability crisis where cheap money benefits investors who drive up asset prices (but not family income).